“Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) both raised concerns at a hearing Wednesday that the new information-sharing effort at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) could be duplicating functions of a separate organization within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Chris Wlaschin, the chief information security officer at HHS, previewed the effort in April. He described it as a health-focused version of the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) at the DHS and said it would be operational this month.

The HHS office, called the Health Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (HCCIC), is funded in the administration’s fiscal 2018 budget proposal under the $72 million allotted for the department’s cybersecurity efforts.

Johnson and McCaskill, who lead the Senate Homeland and Governmental Affairs Committee, wrote to HHS Secretary Tom Price on Wednesday asking for more information about the center, including documents demonstrating the need for it…” More Here

G2X TAKE:Senators grilled HHS about the need for a new HHS Cyber Security office this week, raising concerns that this new effort is duplicating functions currently performed by the Department of Homeland Security’s National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC). With deep cuts expected at HHS, this is not the type of attention that leaders from the Health Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (HCCIC) want.